Saturday October 27, 2012, 11:45 am
the survey needs to be a bit less limited...humane shelters are devoutly to be worked for...but they ARE work. space, staff, and supplies - the Three Esses of any rescue or shelter group of ANY size - are the main barrier, not lack of good intentions. in large cities especially, the influx of homeless pets invariably exceeds the placement rate. help is vital - in the form of volunteer labor, food and veterinary supplies, and just plain cash money - if any shelter is to function, from local individuals as well as government. and it's not like it takes that much from any one person - a dollar a month, or an hour a month - or both - makes an enormous difference when multiplied by all the people in the area.

Saturday October 27, 2012, 1:28 pm
Those of is that desperately network death row dogs the day before they are to be PTS, and go to bed crying, and wake up to check if any have made it out alive is a ritual I would be ectstatic if it were no longer necessary.
I have called the So.LA, lanvaster and other shelters far to often just to hear them tell me they were gone-dead, then I have yo break the news on the thread..it literally tears me up on a daily basis.
Adoptees are always needed of course, but fosters are one of the most important links in the chain, and I pray so hard more will get involved!
Until the day there are more adopters than available dogs, we have to get these places to go no kill, and get the governments to appropriate more money to help fufil the many needs.
I am terrified as to what will happen should the repugs get into office, as their lacl of concern for people in need will surely translate into less, if any funding going to shelters, and a kill rate that will go through the roof, as even more dogs will be surrenderd by owners that will have to move or just won't have the means to keep their furry kids...heartbreak will abound...
Please sign up to foster through a rescue in your area..you will reap joys you never knew possible! 1love

Saturday October 27, 2012, 1:32 pm
mobile- sorry for those awful typo's!
And thanks for this post Cal...i guess you are really seeing this in many more aspects mow that you're involved with Hi-Tor, which we all thank you so much gor.

Saturday October 27, 2012, 9:58 pm
Another sad and disappointing story! How much time could it take to "install proper door handles on its dog runs and sufficient lighting outside"? Especially after everything else has already been done? It seems to me that the door handles and lighting, and the installation services, could be donated by local businesses/craftsmen. A story about their donations/services in the local newspaper would provide them with proper recognition --along with additional business from animal lovers. I hope that some people with big hearts come forward and finish the job.

Have you all seen the documentary Queen Latifa narrates called "The Dogs of South Central"? Download it at watch it for a true "awakening."

Hundreds and hundreds of dogs of every size, shape and breed litter the streets of South Central Los Angeles.....a mere twenty minute freeway drive from the L.A. suburb I call home. Discards, all. Female dogs give birth to generations of puppies who wind up calling the noisy, dirty mean streets of the L.A. urban jungle their "home." Survival on a day to day basis can mean going without food for days and finding an abandoned, burned out house to lay in for shelter from the urban chaos outside. Some are fed; most are left wandering their entire lives, succombing to traffic and the ill will of so-called "humanity."

These dogs don't inhabit some third-world country where animal welfare laws hang by a thread or are non-existent. The dogs of South Central L.A. roam the streets of AMERICA, allegedly one of the most "progressive" nations on earth. All victims of a nation with, like so many others around the world, a throw-away mentality when it comes to food, cell-phones, ANIMALS---not beings in their own right, but "things" that get used and thrown away at a whim. Culture also plays a role, as does socio-economics....."poverty." People bring their attitudes about animals with them to host nations and education is needed to change their way of thinking.

As with children, it takes a village. The moral failure of our society is witnessed on the mean streets of Los Angeles, where dogs and cats are forced to be the ultimate survivors in a world largely made up of folks who just don't care.

Sunday October 28, 2012, 10:54 am
This is a HUGE issue here and I expect things to change quickly! Unfortunately, the City of Los Angeles is financially strapped...many important areas are suffering. This is only one.

Sunday October 28, 2012, 7:44 pm
This is so... Put a vigilant at the door day & night until handles and lights are done! It is cheaper than euthanizing! ANYTHING IS CHEAPER THAN EUTHANAZING!!!

What is happening in LA is what will happen soon everywhere if things don't change. We are living hard times, people is adopting less and less, older people (95%) do not want to have animals and population is ageing...... Make numbers. Future is dark today for our dissadvantaged dogs that cannot compete with smaller "standard beauty" type ones, "wastes" that arrive from puppy mills/backyard breeders every day. OUR REAL HOMELESS, STRAY and NEEDY DOGS die!!! The ones people described as "those whom owners do not care for or spay, are also the ones people is not giving a chance! Those are the ones left behind, making the 75% of shelter capacity or more because they are not adopted!!! They do not survive! Our dissadvantaged babies die!!! But, as things are developing, even those "models" from shelters "cat walks" will die too. Shelters cannot keep killing without making adoptions because they need to make money and states cannot continue to invest money in killing because it is an investment that produces 0 profit! Killing is costing millions and millions to tax payers and states and will cost every day more because level of killing is higher and higher every day in general terms. What LA is doing will not solve the problem. The only thing that could bring a change is becoming a No Kill and educating people related to welfare for animals and adoption. It is not about an extra shelter but about the ban to puppy mills/byb that are the only ones with chance to make money and the ones filling shelters and diminishing the possibility of adoption to Real needy ones. The rest are loosing: shelters, states and animals more than any other. It is time to ask for a No kill state, to make an outcry to community and began immediately with a program for education. With a No Kill status shelters can grow, work less and do not need to kill, states can use the money in better ways and animals survive. If they cannot do it, I suggest to call Austin Pets Alive and ask for help. They will be willing to give it. They are helping Broward shelter in FL to become a No Kill and things are running OK. (And Florida is a high kill state! ) So, less drama with doors and lights and call those that know how to!

Thank You Cal. Noted - PS: send me the address of the account for the donations to the shelter you help!

Sunday October 28, 2012, 8:01 pm
Noted.
Here's a petition posted on one of the comments to the article.
http://www.change.org/petitions/brenda-barnette-south-la-animal-shelter-la-mayor-antonio-villaragosa-take-responsibility-for-your-mess-up-and-open-the-new-shelter